This offseason when members of the Bethune-Cookman football coaching staff traveled the state on their recruiting rounds, they had a bit more of a swagger in their step.

The Wildcats, under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Brian Jenkins, have established quite a winning attitude and atmosphere at the Daytona Beach school and it’s starting to catch on.

Not only did the Wildcats win their second straight MEAC title a year ago, and third in the past four seasons, but B-CU also knocked off FIU, its first victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. In fact, the Wildcats hit the recruiting path with this little nugget as a selling point: B-CU, at 37-11, is the second-winningest college football program in Florida over the past four years. FSU is 45-10, UCF 36-15, UF 30-21 and UM 29-21.

The Wildcats have qualified for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in three of those four years. Jenkins took over the program after the Wildcats went 5-6 in 2009. Now winning is expected at B-CU.

So when the Wildcats open the season at FIU next week, they will have different expectations than what they used to when facing FBS opponents. Leaving Miami with anything but a victory next Saturday will be a complete failure in the eyes of the Wildcats staff and players.

“It means a lot and last year I think it surprised some people with what we did, going down and beating FIU, who was a quality opponent,” Jenkins said. “They’re going to be new and improved this year, and if we can go down with our expectation of pulling off a victory, then I think that’s going to continue put a stamp on our program that we are a serious program and we’re a program that can compete with anybody.

“Sometimes people stamp programs like ours, because we are HBCU [Historically Black Colleges and Universities], as a low-bottom program, but I think we are starting to prove different with the record that we’ve had and the accomplishments that we’ve done thus far. So going down to FIU this year and coming away with a victory there will only help enhance changing that thought process.”

It’s difficult to hang everything on one game at the beginning of the season, but that’s the atmosphere at B-CU. Winning breeds more winning, and it also leads to better recruiting classes. B-CU can now boast to potential prospects about how great a program it is, and there are numbers to back it up.

Bethune had a stellar National Signing Day in February with 19 players inked to letters of intent. Local players WR Milton Thompson of Sanford Seminole and Trenton Bridges of DeLand were part of that recruiting haul, as were heralded players like RB Cameron Rigby from Miramar and DT Troy Wilkins II from Miami Northwestern.

Jenkins, speaking about the upcoming season this past Sunday, did not point out any individual freshmen who might be stepping up, but he did say he’s expecting several youngsters to play key roles.

And as B-CU keeps winning he’s also expecting his staff’s recruiting efforts to begin to start putting more of an emphasis on the circle of upper-echelon prospects.

“Now when we go into the schools, we have our head held up high,” Jenkins said. “Here at Bethune-Cookman, they know we are winners. Whenever you can take that to the table, people have to take a look at you.

“Also, whenever you can put out there that you graduated 31 guys ... that speaks volumes for what you are doing in the classroom. That gives us a little bit of an edge or a boost to where we can get right in there and fight with all those other guys when it comes to recruiting.”

It’s invigorating to hear Jenkins talk about his football program. Sure, it says B-CU on the helmets, but this is Brian Jenkins’ program. He’s built this in four years and the team is once again the preseason favorite to win the MEAC. He’s proud and he should be.

“I’m very proud and I think it speaks volumes for my coaching staff,” Jenkins said. “I have a wonderful coaching staff of men with no hidden agendas, all of us are on the same page and I tell everybody, ‘I’ve got a coaching staff full of head coaches.’

“I’m just very proud, very thankful and very grateful that I’ve been put in a position to be able to assemble a group of guys that have been able to accomplish what we have here.”